APERO: Marine Biogenic Matter Production, Export, and Remineralization

A 40-day oceanographic campaign in June and July 2023 in the Northeast Atlantic provides a mechanistic study of the biological carbon pump. The project, centered at the PAP station (58N, 16W), used autonomous platforms, imagery, and innovative instrumentation to observe processes regulating carbon flux attenuation from 200 to 2000 meters. Its multidisciplinary database aims to quantify associated fluxes and reduce uncertainties in ocean carbon storage.

Use Cases

• Modeling carbon flux attenuation in the water column based on simultaneous multidisciplinary observations.
• Analyzing the role of small-scale (~1-10km) ocean dynamics on particulate carbon export using autonomous platform data.
• Quantifying the metabolic demand for carbon in the mesopelagic zone relative to surface production.
• Studying seasonal maxima in particulate carbon export during the North Atlantic summer.

Strengths

• Data collection was focused during a 40-day period at the known seasonal maximum for particulate carbon export.
• Observation strategy integrates multiple methodologies, including autonomous platforms, imagery, and molecular biology.
• Project is built on significant international collaboration, notably with the JETZON consortium.

Limitations

• Column names and specific data structure are not provided in any source, limiting understanding of the dataset's internal organization.
• Conflicting metadata exists: one platform lists NASA as the organization, while others list no author or organization, creating provenance uncertainty.
• The dataset's size and row count are unknown across all sources.

Provenance

Source

APERO oceanographic campaign; one source lists the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as the organization.

Collection Method

Field campaign involving two oceanographic vessels, autonomous platforms, imagery, and innovative instrumentation.

Time Range

June-July 2023 (40-day campaign).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 according to one source, but another lists 2024-02-01, indicating a potential conflict or delayed synchronization.

Geography

Northeast Atlantic, centered at the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP) sustained observatory (58N, 16W).